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Yesterday afternoon, an update to the iOS version of Google Maps rolled out, bringing with it hotel, flight, and restaurant reservation info that it had pulled from Gmail. In other words, Google Maps on iOS became a lot like Google Now. If you have emails from flight reservations, upcoming hotel bookings, or a confirmation email from something like OpenTable, Google Maps will show you information in card-like panels should you search for those specific places related to those reservations.

Well, guess what? The update started rolling out on Android last night as well, as version 7.5. We received the update figuring there had to be something to it related to this iOS update and sure enough that’s exactly what we’re looking at. Of course (and to no one’s surprise), Google hasn’t updated the listing of “What’s new” yet in Google Play, so we had to do the in-app searching on our own. There could even be more included in the update, but we know it at least includes this snazzy new Gmail-pulling trick.

So how does it work? For example, if I were to do a search for “PDX airport” I should see a card with my upcoming flight info to Las Vegas for CES. You can see that’s exactly what the app is showing above (top right). The same thing works for restaurants, which you can see in the screenshot for Mastro’s in Vegas. With a quick search for “Mastros Vegas,” it took me to the location on the map, showed the name of the restaurant in the lower portion, but also snuck in our reservation time before I even opened the listing. This should work with hotels as well.

We should point out that this info is “Visible only to you.”

As always, we have the .apk below for sideloading should you decide not to wait for Google’s staged rollout to complete.

Post navigation

I have the new Google Maps and I absolutely hate it. I had a along list of my personal maps and they are all gone. Google please don’t fix things if they are not broken. SSOP changing thing just for the sake of changing. Everyone I know hates the new Maps

hoosiercub88

Does it fix Maps being, a flaming pile of dogshit though? I mean new functionality is great but maps/nav haven’t been right since the redesign on my Note II

Chilly O

Parsing error…

Firelight

My #1 Issue with the 7Series Maps is: Navigation. I used to be able to launch Nav without entering a destination and get 3D driving & road names. Now Nav REQUIRES a destination to even enter it.

It’s totally FUBAR. What once replaced a Garmin now does not. Instead I have to use something like Waze which is just another app doing what used to already work just fine before.

j

totally forgot about that. gaahh stop REMOVING features

Guy Pierce

Que the lawsuits. The Android version looks to similar to the iOS version.

MeMe

Has Santa’s Village been listed in the sidebar before now? I don’t remember seeing it before.

Luke Strobel

It was not, so it’s new.

Tom Z

Yes… I saw that earlier in the week.

silentbob2003

hate new google maps. everything seems to take more clicks than before to get what i need, and it seems to work less seamlessly when searching for addresses and locations on google. and half the time when i toggle a layer (especially traffic or satellite), it just refuses to load parts of it, regardless of my data connection.

A1cntrler

I really miss the good old days of Android OS when I could independently increase or decrease the volume level of the navigation. Just hasn’t been the same since.

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

New MAPS… is a P…O….S!. It just doesn’t work anywhere NEAR as good as the 6series maps. You know the one that actually worked. I’ve had issues on all my devices. Blue line disappearing, navigation icon stopping randomly (or never starting to move unless I kill and restart maps), Maps getting confused about my right turn and recalculating even though I’m going exactly where it’s telling me. It just isn’t as accurate and I don’t trust it as much as I used to.

James_C_L

I haven’t had any issues, but I miss a lot of features. That’s why I always have 6.14 saved on Dropbox

j

What type of features? a lot of stuff is buried in weird places now.

I’m not a huge fan of the UI, but I’m coming around.

James_C_L

Actually the UI looks very nice, but I miss the in navigation reroute button, and the 1 touch route view… Among a few others

j

route view is still available. hit the menu button -> route preview. But it’s quite lame that you cannot select an alternative route from within navigation. You must return to maps to select an alternative route, then enable nav again.

James_C_L

That’s what I meant to say.. The 3 alternate routes.. I’m in my vehicle for about 7 hours a day so it was quite convenient for me

Tom Z

And this is why I’m running 6.14.4…. I was hoping one of these version 7’s would fix some of the usability issues.

JRomeo

I used to be able to access my old saved maps points of interest… not any more… for example, I took a vacation in a foreign country, and before I left i created a map on google maps website called “my vacation destination spots” with points of interest…. this used to be easily accessible from the android maps app. you can make different maps, call them different things, then load up each maps for different points of interest at different times…….. not anymore…

j

Yup, I am unable to find that option now too. I have a coupe saved maps from the past, but I can’t find them on my phone maps now. Lame.

shonangreg

I used to be able to”star” any place, now it seems hit or miss as to whether I can. And I can’t star any place when I don’t have a network connection. Editing or naming the favorites/stars is also so onerous that most people have no idea how to even do it.

I love Google for bringing out Google earth and maps, but the OsmAnd app using OpenStreetMap is far, far easier to use for making, editing, and accessing my places of interest.

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

I don’t think 6series can be installed on Kit Kat though… well not the next 5 anyway… Trust me I tried. I’ll have to root.

picaso86

Can you share your apk please? I hate the new maps.

Stephen D

I don’t like the new voice. The Google Now voice was much better. What it is now sounds awful.

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

I don’t really do the voice thing anymore, it interrupts my music lol.

NemaCystX

depends on if the app developer uses the right API or not but one can lower the volume while the other would just pause the music and then resume. Google Play Music lowers the volume while maintaining the playback

JRUIV

Wish I could click on the picture from my phone. I can’t see the photo when it’s so small. Also wish I could go to the next or previous article from my phone without having to go back to the main page

j

You should have UI transparency enabled. Black bars are so last week.

JRUIV

It’s only transparent on the home screen

j

good point lol

Justtyn Hutcheson

Apps can request the UI transparency, as it is an open API. I know Maps is one of the examples they used during the KitKat announcement as an example of that API being useful, but I don’t think it has been impletemented yet. Gallery turns my Nav bar transparent on the Moto X when viewing a picture full-screen, while hiding the Notification bar entirely, so mixed use is possible as well. However, that is the only place outside the launcher that I have seen that behavior.

BigMixxx

looks like someone is coming to vegas for CES!

http://www.droid-life.com Kellex B

Every year.

Damian

Maestro’s is so good! Be ready to spend more than $200 though……

BigMixxx

you should do a follower meet up!

geocab

Be sure to visit the Pinball Hall of Fame.

jbegs

“As always”…awesome!

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